Prisoner’s Dilemma– a positive spin for tobacco companies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnZkU0sZVpI A demonstration by Scott Stevens, Ph. D, of how the Prisoner’s Dilemma works itself out in various different situations other than for benefiting suspects. In the 1960’s, cigarette companies agreed to follow the U.S. government’s ban on TV Ads for tobacco products. One would believe that this would lose the companies revenue, due to the […]
The Dark Knight- Game Theory
Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film the Dark Knight contains an excellent example of game theory. Near the end of the movie, the Joker rigs two ferries carrying people out of Gotham with explosives, one with convicts, and one with civilians. He also gives a detonator to the crew of each boat, but it detonates the explosives […]
Simultaneous Multiple-Round Auction
http://www.technologyreview.com/business/20457/ http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=about_auctions&page=2 This article was written two years ago regarding an auction for communication network spectrum among Verizon, AT&T, and Google. This auction was held by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to distribute network frequencies for airwaves, which were essential for wireless carriers businesses. The possession of a wider frequency spectrum would allow these companies to […]
Why adding new roads does not improve traffic congestion?
Although many people might consider building and widening new roads as the best and most basic solution to traffic congestion (given that we have the resources to build new roads in the first place), it not only does not solve the problem in the short-run, but also increases traffic in the long-run. In chapter 8, […]
Why did Donald Trump “seriously think” about his presidential bid?
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-10/politics/trump.presidency_1_donald-trump-chinese-products-final-decision?_s=PM:POLITICS In 2008, Americans have seen the historic phenomenon of Democrats sweeping the floors of Washington and the White House with full of hope amongst the greatest economic recession. It has been almost 3 years since, however, Americans still don’t see the changes that they have been waiting for after the Bush era was over. President Obama, […]
Edge types in social networks
One of the salient features of Facebook is the undirected edges connecting users. Information resulting from either user’s actions traverses the edge and makes itself visible upon the neighbor’s news feeds. This uncontrollable flow is not evident in all networking sites. Other sites have information dispersion models which provide greater preservation of privacy, or an […]
Spotify and Facebook Hook Up
http://blog.sfgate.com/culture/2011/09/23/as-facebook-and-spotify-hook-up-shawn-parker-parties-hard/?gta=commentlistpos#commentlistpos http://www.thespacelab.tv/spaceLAB/2011/09September/MusicNews-099-Spotify-Facebook-Integration.htm Spotify, the Swedish music streaming service, announced that new users would have to log into their accounts via Facebook Connect. Spotify is a music streaming service that allows users to stream music from a variety of record labels including Sony, Warner Music Group, EMI, Universal, etc. One of the major features that separates […]
Friend or Foe: Game Theory on TV
http://internetwriter62.hubpages.com/hub/Friend-or-Foe-Game-Show-what-it-Reveals-about-Human-Nature This article is about a game show that I used to watch when I was a kid. The show was called “Friend or Foe” and aired on Game Show Network from 2002-2003 and then briefly again in 2008. Contestants on the show worked in teams of two with someone they didn’t know and answered […]
Social Networks: Next Generation of Communication
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/world/americas/mexico-turns-to-twitter-and-facebook-for-information-and-survival.html?scp=2&sq=facebook&st=cse The article explains how communication via Facebook and Twitter has become much more efficient than other means of communication such as news reports. Article comments that people of Mexico were aware of the dumping of dead bodies near Veracruz well before the news reporters and the police arrived at the scenery. How did they […]
P(r)ay for Success Bonds
http://www.nextbillion.net/blog/social-impact-bonds-innovative-financing http://vimeo.com/16422741 In March 2010, the first Social Impact Bond (SIB) was announced in Britain and since then, there has been a growing interest across the world to develop more SIBs. President Obama, in fact, set aside $100 million in his proposed 2012 budget to test ways to utilize SIBs (which he refers to as […]
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